tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post1365794162108974178..comments2024-03-18T04:47:16.199-07:00Comments on The Gray Report: How not to run a wine panel: Saying nothing at the International Chardonnay SymposiumW. Blake Grayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-51866907680380208972016-06-01T16:56:28.327-07:002016-06-01T16:56:28.327-07:00Randy, I did learn something, and you were prepare...Randy, I did learn something, and you were prepared, and you were significantly better than the other moderator, who I haven't named but who was really, really bad.<br /><br />Problem is, the panel was called "Wente Clone Comparative Tasting." Not history.<br /><br />Why does this matter? Personally, I drove down to Pismo Beach because of those two panels. I wouldn't have been W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-25377249832498190482016-06-01T11:13:55.202-07:002016-06-01T11:13:55.202-07:00Hey, Blake... "ouch" again. On one hand ...Hey, Blake... "ouch" again. On one hand you say you attended two of the most "worthless" wine seminars attended in your life, and on the other you're saying that the "Wente Clone" seminar was "significantly better." Perhaps not all that "significantly?"<br /><br />Anyhow, at the risk of coming across as defensive, I thought I should say that Randy Caparoso:https://www.blogger.com/profile/09592071993026270036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-69393998623887176212016-05-30T15:59:34.938-07:002016-05-30T15:59:34.938-07:00I got a relevant email after this post from Bill H...I got a relevant email after this post from Bill Hanna, who grows Chardonnay in Napa Valley, and he agreed to let me post this part of it here:<br /><br />Our first vineyard, my dad's, was a selection from Stoney Hill that was in turn selected from Wente. That fruit was in Chateau Montelena's 1973 that won the "Judgement of Paris" 40 years ago. At this time we have two small W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-7426810885431948522016-05-29T00:24:58.994-07:002016-05-29T00:24:58.994-07:00Wine anecdote.
I organize wine cellars in Los Ang...Wine anecdote.<br /><br />I organize wine cellars in Los Angeles.<br /><br />One collector client engaged me to spend multiple consecutive Saturdays "auditing" his collection.<br /><br />On my inaugural visit to his home, he asked me to cart out to the curbside trash cans unwanted boxes of California white wines. Inside were old vintages of Stony Hill Chardonnay.<br /><br />"Wait.Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-71529469345589911332016-05-29T00:05:53.776-07:002016-05-29T00:05:53.776-07:00Blake,
The panel members comprised one wine write...Blake,<br /><br />The panel members comprised one wine writer (Randy Caparoso) and three winemakers (Karl Wente and Jim Clenenden and Chris Hyde).<br /><br />Anyone else?<br /><br />(Too bad you didn’t have anyone from Stony Hill and Kalin Cellars – which, if memory serves me correctly, both make Chardonnays from the “Wente clone.”)<br /><br />And you tasted these wines – among others:<br /><br /Bob Henryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02089688073031173053noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-55249909396804741462016-05-27T17:21:35.373-07:002016-05-27T17:21:35.373-07:00Prince, in your third sentence you gave more regio...Prince, in your third sentence you gave more regional information than the 90-minute panel. See, it can be done. Thanks!<br /><br />W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-87378634948005573252016-05-27T15:40:47.003-07:002016-05-27T15:40:47.003-07:00Describing regional differences in Chardonnay is c...Describing regional differences in Chardonnay is challenging because you are dealing with multiple Wente selections on different rootstocks of varying age vs multiple Dijon clones, wide differences in harvest Brix, vinification and a number of other factors. Chardonnay is not a particularly terroir driven variety and is very adaptable to many climats unlike Pinot Noir. Heck, you can grow Prince of Pinothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07141443203783455399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-80201136686433963252016-05-27T09:47:22.975-07:002016-05-27T09:47:22.975-07:00Samantha: Though this panel had some good wines, I...Samantha: Though this panel had some good wines, I wish I'd gone to the one you attended. <br /><br />I haven't attended this symposium before. It was lightly attended by the public and I don't know why. Some of the problem might be location: Pismo Beach is far from population centers. This year's symposium didn't inspire me to want to attend next year, and I wonder if that W. Blake Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17755307711801965966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-31121037694134940382016-05-27T09:16:25.242-07:002016-05-27T09:16:25.242-07:00I read your story with interest, because I went to...I read your story with interest, because I went to a similar panel at the Chardonnay Symposium a few years back regarding regional Chardonnay differences. In that particular panel, winemakers made wines, or were chosen because, they didn't do a lot to the chardonnays to change the end result (ie, lots of fining with tannin, gums, strong toasted new barrels, etc). Someone had even done their Samanthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14156798658595671678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9210235767643862872.post-41557703452897426562016-05-27T01:24:24.254-07:002016-05-27T01:24:24.254-07:00Thanks for the interesting post. It's indeed s...Thanks for the interesting post. It's indeed strange that the panel did not want to describe any of the regional differences. Aren't certain AVAs supposed to have their own distinct characteristics that they promote? The panel could have at least spoken in generalities about that.<br /><br />I basically agree with your statement that the point when guiding consumers, "is not the gurenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12212928072016843956noreply@blogger.com